After Ate Marcel, our eldest
in the family, won two beauty titles in a row (She was 1982 Hiyas ng Silangan-
Bohol and Miss Talent & Top Ten Finalist in the national contest the same
year and as Tagbilaran City’s bet was the 1983 Miss Young Bohol where she was
also Best in Evening Gown), another Gatal beauty made her mark in a beauty tilt
this time, in a prestigious campus beauty search
My first cousin Rollynda
Agcaoili Gatal, the fifth among six children of Reynald Torralba Gatal (Papa
Rogie’s older brother) and Milagros Agcaoili- Gatal, was a graduating high
school student when she was crowned the 1989 Miss DWCT.
DWCT of course is the then
Divine Word College- Tagbilaran City now HNU or Holy Name University
The prim and proper Adlay
bested the ladies who represented the Engineering, Nursing, Arts &
Sciences, Secretarial, Commerce & Education colleges. Hers was a remarkable
triumph for she was the youngest candidate and had no pageant experience.
For the record, she is one
of only four Miss High School girls in contemporary times to be crowned Miss
DWCT. The others were Joji Almiranez 1977, Socorro D Marie “Talie” Inting 1995
and Rhea Echavez in 2004
Even without any pageant
experience, the reluctant Adlay was a picture of confidence and allure. There
was an unmistakable regal air that she exuded onstage especially when she came
out in her Leonardo Igloria evening gown
QUESTION & ANSWER
PORTION
During the interviews, her
question was
” If you can save only one passenger from a sinking ship, who would it be?
An old man or a helpless baby? Why?
Her answer
“It’s not really a matter of choosing who to save.
I believe it's a matter of who is easier or more possible for me to save.
After all, both of them have the right to live
She became an instant
campus figure but her pageant victory never went to her head. She was still the
same Adlay; reserved, well- grounded and very focused on her studies.
She was deluged with
offers to join Miss Tagbilaran or Miss Bohol but she was firm yet polite when
she declined the invitations.
Her reason? To focus on
her studies
NAMED AFTER A BOHOL
GOVERNOR & A PRESIDENTIAL DAUGHTER
Rollynda who is
affectionately called Adlay was named after our uncle Rolly Gatal Butalid and
First Daughter Linda Garcia.
Both Tito Rolly and Linda
were Uncle Rey’s and Auntie Mila’s confidantes and advisers when the lovebirds
were still working in Malacanang Palace during Pres. CPG’s term
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| February 1989: with Papa Rey, Ate Ricca & Racquel |
She graduated from DWCT
High School, March 1989 with honors and pursued a BS Nursing degree in Cebu
Doctors College where she graduated on March 1993.
After taking and passing
the licensure examinations for nurses, she applied and got in at Cebu City
Medical Center.
A few months after, she
flew to the United States for a nursing job in New Jersey
 |
NEWLYWEDS with Father of the Bride
June 28, 1998 |
On June 28, 1998 or five
years after she left for the US, she flew back home to exchange “I Do’s” with
her first and only boyfriend Kevin Barga of Iligan City whom she met while both
were in college.
I flew back home from
Zamboanga City where I was based to emcee their wedding reception
During the interviews, her
question was
Presently, Adlai and Kevin
are based in New Jersey, United States and they are blessed with two sons;
Nicholas and Brandon
 |
Cousins: Your blogger with Adlay Gatal- Barga & Dominic Butalid
Photo Credits: Roger Gatal, December 30, 2013 |
We met again last December for a
different kind of family reunion. Although under sad circumstances, I am glad
to find out that she has remained not only beautiful but also level- headed and
humble
Please click the link for The History of Miss DWCT/ HNU Queens
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